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Mlfclli^lU III 



By MAJOR R. L. F^AGLAND, 

Proprietor of 

RAGLAND'S TOBACCO SEED FARM, 

HYCO, VIRGINIA. 



L PUBLISHED AND PRESENTED BY ^ 

t FERTILIZER MANUFACTURER, -^ 

f 217 AND 2 19 BOWLY'S WHARF, 1 

f BALTIMORE, MD. 1 

r U. S. A. J 

:ii1l„ Il Ili„„illlf In, Ili„„illli,.., iilh llhniillln.Hill illli lIlH.nllh, h illh 1 



Cable Address, "RED BAG" Baltimore. 



FERTILIZERS. 



OFFICE OF I x^aC^K owner Ol 

w. s. POWELL/T.^u>ECK^MAl!K,Powel^s Prepared^ 

BALTINtORE, MD. Mg^ 



I For luakina- Fertilizers 
at Home. 



JAIMUARY 1st, 1889. 
TO 

TOBACCO PLANTERS. 



Success ill tobacco cultm-e so greatly depends iip<^'ii th( 
pro])er selection of adapted soil and -N-arieties suited to tin 
several types, and the propor preparation, culture, curinu- 
and management of the crop, that, desirous of funiishin<i 
tobacico growers with the latest and most approved methods 
and i)ractice, I htive procured from Major Robert L. Rag- 
land, of Hyco, Halifax County, Virginia, the most renownec 
autliority on tobacco culture, a revised edition of his manua 
on tobacco, prepared especially for me at my request, and 
now present it to yovi in the hope that j'ou may find in it n 
sure guide to help you to I'aise good crops of the finest <iiiality. 
which never fail to pay handsome i-eturns. This treatise 
has been endorsed and approved by the most successful 
planters in evei'v state where Commercial Leaf, as distin- 
gidshed from Cigar Leaf , is grown; and I take pleasui-e in 
presenting it to you, and recommending it for embodying 
the latest experience and safest instruction, and confidently 
hope it Avill i)i<)ftt all who follow this teaching. 

An IMPORTANT POINT in raising tobacco snceessfull\ 
is suitable fertilizers. It has generally been thought that an.\- 
fertilizer analyzing high in Anuuonia and Potash would pro- 
duce large crops of tobacco; this is an error; very often the 
Ammonia is unavailable and the Potash is the wrong kind. 






^71lat I claim for my fertilizers sold for use on tobacco is that 
tliey contain the proper ingredients in correct proportions 
and in available forms for the tobacco plant, and I know ray 
claims ai'e just, becanse my fertilizei's produce the field 
results and make large paying- crops. My "Tip Top" Bone 
Fertilizer has been sold in the tobacco raising sections for the 
past twelve years, and I have not had twelve complaints of 
it not doing- all I claim for it. My prices are moderate. 

Hoping the reader may appreciate my efforts to increase 
the tobacco industry and give my fertilizers a trial. 
Respectfully, 

W. S. POWELL, 
Fertilizer Manufacturer, 

Baltimore, Md. 



TOBACCO: 

HOW TO CROW AND CURE IT. 



The several grades of tobacco, whether for chewiiis', i)ii)e- 
wuoking-, or cig'ars, require different soils and uianaj^eiuent 
to insure a product that will command an adeciuate return 
for the labor and means expended on the crop. It i?, there- 
foi-e, of the highest importance that the planter should know 
Avhat grade his lands are capable of in-oducing' in the greatest 
l)erfection, and the modes and management to accomplish the 
best results from such choice. 

A deep rich soil, overlaying- a red-clay subsoil, is best suite<l 
IV>r dark heavij shipping tohaccos. 

A gravelly or sandy soil, with a red or brown subsoil, is best 
adapted to the production of sweet fillers and stemmiiiy tohaccos. 

Alluvials and rich Hats produce the best cigar stock. 

Experience has proved that a gray, sandy or slaty to])- 
soiJ, with a yellow porous subsoil, is best for yellow n-rappers 
aiul smokers. And these grades are in such great demand, 
and command so much moi'e in price than any cithers, that 
we propose, in this short treatise, to devote to them most 
space. For, in the production* of these the author has had 
most experience and sucicess ; and while the production of 
"brights" re(iuires more skill and careful management, they 
seldom fail to make ample compensation for all the attention 
bestowed ui)on them. 

But unless the planter makes provision by building or 
arranging suitable barns provided with Hues, or prepares 
charcoal, he need not expect to succeed, and had better aim 
at some other grade requiring less preparation, cost and skill. 

Log barns, ranging from sixteen to twenty feet squai-e, are 
the sizes mostly used. These should be built about twenty 
feet high in the body, and covered with shingles or boards. 
Large logs may be used imtil the pen is built about seven feet 
high from the ground. Then if the size is twenty feet, lay otf 
for live rooms, four feet a])art, and place tier jtoles across to 
fwrm the lower tier. Kuise two logs liigher all aro\nid, and 



l)ut oil aiiotliei' coul'8e ol' tici' poles directly ovel- the tirst. 
Then, using smaller logs (cabin size), place on three logs 
liigher all around, laying on tier poles as before, and continue 
to elevate the body of the barn until you have five tiers. 
Then place two more logs around a'nd the plates, and the pen 
is ready to be roofed. You will then have a barn with five 
rooms and five tiej's high. Mark you, the lf)wer tiers are not 
tiring tiers but placed in the barn for the convenience of 
hoisting, and for storing cured tobacco when necessary. B.\' 
this arrangement, the tiers are about three feet apart verti- 
cally, the body of the barn a cube— as high as it is wide and 
deep— and the whole arrangement conformable to the process 
of ciu'ing. The roof is so constructed, cf)nforming to the plan 
of the tiers below, as to contain three tiers above the joist, 
\iirying in length . Such a barn will hold about 6o0 to 700 
sticks of medium tobacco, six plants to the stick. To prepare 
foi- cui'ing brights, it must be chinked and daubed close in- 
side and out. 

FLUES AND FLUE-CURING. 

Flues have almost entirelj' superseded charcoal for cin-ing 
yellow tobacco, as being cheaper and better every way. The 
heat is more readily controlled l)y the use of flues- an impor- 
tant item in successful curing— and the tobacco cured there- 
with is cleaner, brighter and sweeter than that cured with 
c;harcoal. The flue is moreover the best mode for applying 
heat in the ciu-ing process for aiiy type of tobacco requiring 
the application of artificial heat, and may be used to good 
advantage in drying out and seasoning those types cm-ed 
mainly by the sun and air, and preserving them from injury. 
Its use is fast "superseding the open wood fire with its objec- 
tionable smoke," as predicted by the writer yeai's agf). 

The following cut represents the "Furnace and Pipe" flue, 
more extensively used at this time than any other, and is not 
patented. It is cheap and reliable, easily controlled, safe, and 
may be relied upon to work well. 

Cut out two or three logs from the end of the barii as rep- 
resented by the brick work (see diagram). Then first construct 
the two furnaces A B and A B with brickor stone, as follows: 
Let the mouths of the furnaces, A A, project fifteen inches 
outward beyond the wall—the cut fiwls to show the.projec- 
tion properly— and extend the furnaces to B B, aboutfive and 
a-half to six feet. The outer wall of the furnaces should -be 
about fifteen inches distant from the logs or sills of the barn. 



Huikl the walls oi" the i'lu'iiaccs (.'ighteou inches apart and 
eighteen inches high at A A, running- back to fourteen inches 
high at B B, and let the bottom of the flues slope iipAvard 
from four to five inches from A A to B B. The f uiniaces 
should be arched with brick or covered with fire-proof stf)ne, 
or No. 16 or 18 sheet iron, from A to B. 




"W 



Be careful to see that the furnaces at every point are so 
constructed as not to come iii near contact with the sides or 
walls of the barn, lateral or vertical, and that the exits of the 
pipe are protected by brick or stone, as seen in the diagram. 

Insert sheet-iron pijies at B B on cast-iron eyes made for the 
purpose and placed into the ends of the furnaces, as near the 
toi)s thereof as possible. The eyes are not absolutely neces- 
sary, but they greatly protect the pipe from biu'ning, and 



bci 11 n- fixed into the onds of the furnaces, the pipe is more 
readily adjusted. For a 20 by ^0 feet barn use pipe eleven or 
twelve inches in diameter— for barn 16 by 16 feet use ten-inch 
l)ipe. Extend the pipe all arovmd from BBtoDD, witha 
gradual elevation of one foot rise from B to C, and, with two 
feet elevation from C to D. Cap the ends of the pipes with an 
elbow. 

For small barns, the pipes may be brought together mid- 
Avay between C and C, by a V-shapcd connection into one- 
twehe inch return i)ipe, through the middle of the barn. 
This flue operates Avell and is ^'ery popular with the planters 
working a small force and using- only small barns, which are 
better for them than larg-e ones, and is the cheapest good flue 
made. 




Au.\' tinner can make the i)i|K', and fovnidrics and hardwan? 
stf>res t'lirnish the eyes. 'J'he cost of ])ipe varies from five and 
a-haif to six and a-half Vents per pound, and ten-inch east 
eyes cost about two dolltirs a pair, and twelve-inch eyes 
about two dollars and tiftj- cents. The cost of i)iping- for a 
small barn varies from eight to ten dollars, or less. 

Patented flues cost more, and some of them are well worth 
the difference in the cost over the plain flue. The "Regulator" 
is one of the best, and costs verj^ little more, and as a fuel- 
saver alone will more than compensate for ditterence in 
cost in one season's cxiring-. By the use of this flue the heat is 
more easily imder the control of the curer— the temperature 
being regulated at will by throwing the heat into or out of 
the barn. The "Kegulator" is manufactured at South Bos- 
ton, N'a., by Jordan & Easlcy. 

SELECTION OF SEED. 

There is no farm crop grown as a staple in the United 
States that pays better than yood tobacco; and to grow good 
tobacco re(iuires, in the first place, good seed ; for good seed 
is at the foundation of all successful farming, and more essen- 
tial, if possible, as regards tobaccf), than in any other crop. 
For in this, the range of types, grades, and prices, are wider 
than in any other crop, while the seed affect and control all 
these more than any other factor. Soil, climate, and manage- 
ment, next to variety, operate to determine the charactei- of 
the product. 

The variety must be suited to the type which the planter 
intends to i-aise, and the soil must be adapted to the type, or 
failiu-e is certain. Bright yellow tobacco cannot be produced 
on dark rich soil, nor rich dark ''shipping" on poor gray soil: 
nor will the rich, coarse varieties produce fine silky yellow 
goods, or the thin silky varieties make heavy, fat, tough ex- 
jtort tobaccos. 

There has been a wonderful im])rovement in Aarieties of 
tobacco during the past generation— improvement by selec- 
tion in the old kinds and the introduction of new varieties, 
with superior (lualities and characteristics for every type of 
tobacco. None but an old fogy will continue to plant the old, 
iminiproved varieties because they were his father's oj- 
grandfather's favorites. The world moves, seeds are im- 
])roved, and industries developed and advanced. Our ances- 
tors succeeded with the varieties of tobacco they planted, 
when there was mainly but one type-the dark shipping— but 



fit.st(» and fashion cliango, new typos are wanted and new 
\arieties suited to these tj'pes, and planters who naeet tlie de- 
mand are those who make the most money by tobacco plant- 
ina-. 

Where is the successful farmer who now soavs the old wheats 
once used by his ancestors? Look at the improvement in 
\ arieties in veg-etables, fruits, farm and horticultural, in the 
past century. Seeds, like animals, are g"reatly improved b.\- 
propagation of selections and judicious crossing-; and espe- 
cially is this true as regards the improvement of seeds, when 
carried on under the most favoring conditions of development 
as to soil, climate, and cultivation. Virginia is the home of 
the tobacco plant, and here it develops to the highest perfec- 
tion, and, consequently, here have originated the best and 
finest varieties. She grows now all the types used in plug- to- 
bacco and for pipes and cig-arettes ; and she has some sixteen 
hundred squai-e miles of soil suited to another type— Cig-ar 
Tobacco— and these soils lie mainlj- in the Piedmont countr>', 
Avhere our people are striving to compete with the West in 
growing grain. Here is an opportunity that ought to be im- 
pi-oved. 

It is a recognized fact that where any flora develops to 
greatest perfection, there is where the hest seed can be grown. 
It would pay planters in the South and West, who g-row tlie 
yellow and dark export types, to get their seeds every year 
from Virginia, as market-gardeners get seeds from localities 
Avhere the several varieties develop to greatest perfection, 
rather than grow their supplies at lower cost, but under less 
favoring conditions, as to adaptibility of soil, climate, &c. 
They know where to get the best, and are aware of the ten- 
dency to degeneration in seeds generally, and the importance 
of "a fre(iuent recurrence to first principles," to promote 
healthy normal growth and maturity. 

Planters have no excuse for using poor seeds when pedigree 
seeds of all tjpes may be so cheaply procured. The cost of 
tobacco seed per acre ranges from ten to twenty cents— the 
cost of seed of no other farm crop is so little. 

VARIETIES FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF 
TOBACCO. 

We al] premise by stating that only an approximate guide 
may be given for the selection of varieties suited to the sev- 
eral types. The variation in soil and climate in different 
localities greatly modify the selection. For, what is best in 



some localities is not best in otliers; and trial, at last, must 
determine what is best in every case. When this is ff)und, it 
is well to stick to i^ and plant mainly of this variety, and spa- 
ring-ly of others until a better is found, if possible. 

VAKIETIES SUITED TOR THE VARIOUS 
TYPES. 

For dark, rich "shii)ping-," nothing' has been found superior 
to the following" James Kiver Blue Prior, Lacks or Beat-AJl 
and Medley Prior. 

For sweet tillers: Sweet Oronoko and Flanagan. 

For stemming: Linig- Leaf and Broad Leaf Gooch, Hester, 
'J'uckahoe, Big- Oronoko, and Lacks. 

For mahog-any Avrappers: Tuckahoe, Sweet Oronoko, Fhin- 
agan. Primus, Long'-Leaf -Gooch, and White Stem. 

P^)r cutters: Hyco, White-stem Oronoko, Yellow Oronoko, 
Gi-anville Yellow, Sterling-, Lacks, Yellow Prior, and Hester. 

For yellow wrappei'S and tillers: Sterling-, Primus, Gran\'ille 
Vellow, White-stem Oronoko, Tuckahoe, Hester, Long- Leaf 
Gooch, Tellow Oronoko and Yellow Prior. 

Trial Avill determine what variety is best for any locality-, 
as no one variety is best for all locations. To plant varieties 
unsiiited to the type, or on soil luiadapted thereto, is to invite 
failure every time. 

The leading cigar Aarieties are: Connecticut and Pennsyl- 
vania Seed Leaf, Imported and American Grown Havana^ 
(general Grant, Bradley Broad Leaf and several Spanish 
Strains. 

In" localities liable to early frost it is safest to i)lant the 
earliest varieties of the several types, such as Sterling-, Prim- 
tis, Granville Yellow, H>co, Hester, Sweet Oronoko and Brad- 
ley for the manufacturing- types, and Havana, Big- Havana 
and Persian Rose for cigars. 

White Burley, when grown on rich lime-stone soil, makes a 
mild type of tobacco in great favor, but this type cannot be 
successfully produced on silicious soils, such as are best adap- 
ted to all other Leaf types ; and for this reason, it has invari- 
ably proved a failiu-e in the old leaf producing- States East. 
Soutliern Ohio and Eastern Kentucky ])roduce the best grade 
of this type. 

Sweet Oronoko— the Eastern Burley— makes mild, sweet, 
substantial cheAving and smoking- goods, iniexcelJed by Bur- 
ley or any other tpye, Avhen properly groAvn on silicious soils. 

Hyco and Lacks cure readily and more certainly of colors 
desired in types for which they are recommended. 

10 



Hester and Long- Leaf Goocli possess g'reatei* atlai)til)iUty 
to soils than any othei'S, and thei^ef ore succeed wliere others 
fail. 

Sterling-, Tellow Oronoko and Yellow Prior are luiexcelled 
for producing- the finest Lemon Yellow goods, while Long- 
Loaf Gooch, Tiickahoe and Hester make the finest OraiKjr 
Yellow. 

Bradley makes fine manufacturing and good Cigars. 

Big Havana is the best Americanized Havana and Persian 
Rose, the earliest Cigar leaf, is one of the most promising- for- 
eign varieties. 

PREPARATION OF PLANT BEDS. 

There are two modes for raising plants- in hot bed or cold 
frame, or in the open air— one oi- the other of which has pref- 
erence according to locality ; the former being- more prac- 
tised north of forty degrees latitude, while the latter is pre- 
ferred south of that line. We will here give both, that plan- 
ters may choose. 

The Hot Bed.— Select a southern or southeastern exposure, 
sheltered on the north, dig- and shovel out a space five by 
twelve feet or any required length, to the depth of eighteen 
inches. Place straw to the depth of three or four inches in 
the bottom of this trench, and cover with fresh uurotted ma- 
nure from the stable to the depth of six or eight inches ; then 
cover the manure with Sf)il— wf)ods-mould is best— five inches 
deep. How to cover the bed with canvas will be presently 
described. 

Tobacco seed is sown on the bed thus prepared at the rate 
of two teaspoonfuis to a bed five by twelve feet. To sow reg- 
ularly, mix the seed with a fertilizer, ashes or plaster, and sow 
in drills three inches apart. When the plantshave pretty Avell 
covered the siu-face of the b€?d, remove the canvas during the 
day, and only replace it when there is danger of frost, or to 
keep off the flea-bugs. There is the advantage of having ear- 
lier plants by this mode and perfect security against the flea- 
bug-, which will repay for the additional cost of raising- at 
least a portion of the plants needed for the crop l\v this safe 
mode. 

Open Air Be(fs.— But there is no question that open air beds 
are cheapest. And where this mode of raising plants is prac- 
ticable, it is greatly to be preferred for the main supply of 
plants. It is a well-established opinion that plants raised in 
the open air stand transplanting- better and usually grow off 
quicker than plants raised in hot bed or cold-frame. 

11 



>ielecit(ni of Locai/Yi/. - On the seicctioil of a i»i'oper locality 
lor a plant bed, and its preparation, largely depends the 
timely supply of strong-, healthy plants, without which it is 
impossible to raise a crop of tine g^rade. The planter, there- 
fore, cannot he too careful in choosing a sheltered spot, nei- 
ther too wet nor too dry, as rich naturally as can be found, 
and located so as~to possess different degrees of moisture. 

Go into the woods, original foi-est, if possible, and select n 
spot near a branch or stream of water, embracing both hill- 
side and flat, and having- a southern or southeastern exposui-e, 
protected by woods on the north. Burn over the plat intended 
for plants, either by the old or ncAv method. The first consists 
in placing down a bed of wood on small skids three to four 
feet apart on the ground well cleared and raked. Then fire 
tliis bed of wood and permit it to remain burning loiig enough 
to cook the soil brown for half an inch deep. With hooks, or 
old hoes fastened to long poles, pull the burning mass of 
brands a distance of four and a half or five feet, throw on 
brush and wood, and continue burning and moving the fire 
until the bed is biu-ned over. Never burn Avhen the land is 
wet. It will require from one and a half to two hoiu-s to cook 
the soil properly. 

Or, better still : Rake over nicelj'' the plat to be burned, then 
place down i)oles from two to four inches iji diameter, three 
and a half to four feet apai't, over the entire surface to be 
burned. Then place brush thickly over the plat and weight 
down with wood, over which throw leaves, trash or other 
combvistible material ; over this sprinkle kerosene oil, and set 
tlic whole on fire and burn at one operation. 

Hut any mode of burning the plat Avill suffice, provided that 
it is effectually done. After the plat has been burned and has 
cooled, vake oft" the larg;e coals and brands, but let the ashes 
remain, as they are essentially, '<^ ftrst-class manure. Then 
covilter over the plat deeply, or break with grub hoes, and 
make fine the soil by repeated chopping and raking, observ- 
ing not to bring the subsoil to the surface, and remove all 
roots and tufts. Manure from the stable, hog pen or poultry 
.house, or some reliable commercial fertilizer— such as "Tij) 
Top"— should be chopped into and thoroughly incorporated 
with the soil Avhile preparing the bed to be sown. E.xiierience 
has denumstrated that it is better to use both. 

Powell's Tip Top Bone Fertilizer mixed withecpuil quantity 
of poultry house droppings and thoroughly incorporated, 
makes a most excellent manure .for plants, and so does a com- 
post made with Powell's Prepared Chemicals, stable manure 



jiiul rich moist earth . The latter when compostefl in time is 
the best and surest. But beware of using manure containinjj- 
g-rass seed. The .iudgment of tlie planter must g-uide liim in the 
amount of fertilizing material to be applied at this stage; but 
it is well to remind him that the tobacco plant rai-ely responds 
to homoepathic doses of plant food, but that the allopathic 
usage suits it best. 

Sow at the I'ate of a tablespoonful of seed, which is about 
half an oxmce, on CACry fifty square yards at first sowing, 
and later resow with a heaping teas]>oonful over the same 
surface, to secure a good stand. Injury by frosts or bugs may 
reiiuire a third or fourth sowijig. Sow a little thick rather 
than too thin to meet contingencies, and secure a good stand 
in time. 

The best Avay to sow the seed is to mix them thoroughly witli 
a fertilizer or dry ashes, and sow once regularly over the bed, 
reserving seed enotigh to cross sow to promote regularity. 
The tobacco seed is the smallest of all farm seeds, and conse- 
(luentlj' re(]uiresalight covering. If the seed are sown before 
the 20th of February, the best Avay is to firm the surface of the 
bed by treading it over closely, but if sown later, sweep 
liglitly over with a brush or light rake. Then i-un surface 
drains through the bed, with inclination enough to ])ass ott' 
the water. To do this properly, run them ofl" four or five feet 
apart with. the foot, then o})en with a luirrowgrubbing-hoe to 
the depth of three or four inches. Then trench deeply around 
the outside of the bed, to ward off surface water and pre\'ent 
washing. 

Mulcliimj and Corer/ny.— Hog hair whipped fine and scat- 
tered over the bed, attracts and retains moisture, protects the 
plants from frost, and acts as a manure. There is no better 
covering for aM>laut-bed, but unfortunately it is rarely ever 
in full supplr- T'iiio brush should be placed thickly over the 
bed, or if not handy, cover with straw or chatf free from 
grain. A covering of some such material is necessary-, or the 
young plants are likely to be killed by frost or suffer from 
drought, and they thri^ e better with some protection. 

Canvas Covcrimj for Plant J^eds.— A covering of thin clotli 
has been found to hasten the growth (^f plants and protect 
them from freezing and injury by the flea-bugs This makes 
the bed warmer, and acts as a cold-frame, the canvas taking 
the place of glass- 

The "Water-Proofing Fibre Company, New York, prepare a 
cloth for plant-beds by a process Avhich greatly promotes du- 
rability, Avhile rendering- the cloth unfit for domestic use, and 
13 



Ihcrcforc not able to be stolen. It is a good thing, as the 
writer knows from trial. 




The (?ut on the fore^oinj^- page Is intenJed to show how to 
construct a canvas covering- over a plant bed. 

First, boards should be placed all around the bed close, so 
as to prevent the little black beetle, or tlea, from creeping 
througli, eighteen or twenty inches high on the ui)per side 
and sloping to ten or twelve inches on the lower. Then pre- 
l»ai'e a lot of small stakes, small round poles, one and one half 
inches in diameter (make good ones), sawed into lengths 
graduated from two feet to eighteen inches long, and shary)- 
ened at one end. Drive these stakes six feet apart, in rows, 
through the bed for the laths, two inches wide and one inch 
thick, to rest upon. The middle lath should be a plank one 
inch thick and six inches wide. Then drive ten-penny nails, 
eighteen inches apart, all around the out^de of the boarding, 
and from five to six inches from the top edge. Also dri\e 
nails in the middle board, eighteen inches apart. Make the 
covering in two pieces, each the size of half the bed, say ten 
by ten yards, and seAV on the outer edge, all around each 
cover, loops of cloth, made of common domestic, eighteen 
inches apart, to receive a cord or twine, which run through 
loops all around and tie, and the cover is ready to be placed 
over- the bed and fastened by pulling the twine or cord o^er 
the nails all around, letting the two covers meet in the middle 
over the six inch board. By this arrangement the cover is 
kept fast over the bed at the right distance above the plants, 
and may be removed and placed over it at will in less time 
than by any other known contrivance. 

A StaudUnj Plant-Bed.— Bvery planter oug-ht to have a 
standing plant-bed, which may be secured in the following 
Avay : Sometime in July or August select one of the best of 
the old plant-beds, and with hoes shave down the green plants 
over its entire surface, and cover over thickly with straw or 
leaves, then place green l)rush thickly over the bed and 
weight down with wood. When the whole is dry, some time 
in the late fall or early winter, set on fire, and thus re-burn 
over the bed. Then chop and rake fine, sow and trench as 
when first prepared. Repeat the same operation every jear, 
and, if the bed is manured properly, it Avill impro\e and 
prove a stand-by for many years. 

Unhunicd Beds.— Plants may be raised by going into the 
forest, selecting a moist rich plat, and after raking off the 
leaves, coultering or chopping the surface fine, manuring 
heavily, and sowing the seed. But such beds rarely hold out 
well if the season be dry. They never "repeat" well after the 

15 



first "drawing'' like burnt beds, Avhich are more reliable for a 
suece8si\'e supply of plants as the season advances. 

Time of Sowing Seed.— The time for sowing varies with the 
latitiide, varietj- aud season. Between the parallels of 35 and 
40 degrees north latitude, compassing the great tobacco belt, 
iH^ds may be sown any time between the 1st of January and 
:?(>th of March, and the sooner the better for the bright grades, 
Avhich ought to be planted early to mature, ripen and yellow, 
preparatory to being cured early in the fall, when the most 
successful curings are usually made. Yellow tobacco oug"ht 
to be planted out in May, but June plantings iisually do best 
iu heavy dark grades. The planter will consult his intei'est 
by sowing at a ])roper time to suit the grade he desires to 
raise. 

Plants set out after the 10th of July rarely pay tor growing 
and handling, and if not planted by that time, it will be wise 
to plant the hills in ])eas, potatoes, or something else. 

Hastening the Oroivthof Plants— As soon as the plants be- 
come '.'square," (. e. have four leaves, you may be^gin to force 
their growth, if necessary. Nothing is better at this stage of 
their growth than to apply dry stable manure, rubbed fine, 
and sowed over the bed— applying at the rate of live bushels 
to every one hundred square yards. Be sure to have it dry 
and fine, and apply when the plants are dry. This is a favor- 
able time to apply a goodfertilizer,*and the best time to apply 
it is during a shower, or when it is apparent that one is im- 
pending. 

Every planter should compost in time stable manure free 
from grass seeds along with Powell's Prepared Chemicals; 
using just enough moist rich earth to promote fermentation. 
Nothing is better than this compost for a top dressing on 
plants to promote rapid, vigorous, stocky growth, defying the 
ravages of the flea beetle and hastening their preparation for 
transplanting. 

Look (nit for the '' Fiea-Bug. ""-If the "fly," as it is called, 
begins to devour the young plants, apply plaster, in which 
rags saturated with kerosene oil have lain for a few hours, 
coN'ering the plants with the plaster, if necessary, to keep the 
little pests from devouring tbeni. Kepeat the application 
after every rain unless the flies have left. 

A covering of green cedar brush has driven off the fly when 
other remedies failed, and saved the plants. If the flies are 
lunuerous, the planter can save his plants only by vigilant 
and constant attention. Hard burning, early and thick sow- 
ing, liberal and frequent applications of manure, are the best 

16 



safegnuirds, Avhich rarely fail to reward the planter with an 
early and full supply of stocky plants, and with some loft for 
his less provident neighbors. Some planters, if such they ma>- 
be called, alwaj's fail— some never. Follow the latter, and 
you will alM-ays be right. 

Canvas covei-ed beds- are the surest protection, and seem the 
best every way. 



SELECTION" OF SOIL, PREPARATION" AND 
MANURING. 

The tobacco plant thrives best in a deep, mellow, loamy soil, 
rich or made so with fertilizers. The subsoil ought to be suftl- 
cientiy porous to permit the water falling on the surface to 
pass dowuAvard readily, and not to accumulate to drown and 
stagnate. 

If old land is selected, it ought to be fallowed deep in the 
fall or early winter, that the frosts may jmlverize it. Turn 
under, if possible, some coarse farm manure, for its decay will 
greatly help to loosen the soil, while furnishing food for 
t"rie crop. As a coarse manure for yellow tobacco, nothing is 
better than wheat straw turned under in the fall and Avinter. 
The plants rarely fail to ripen yellow in color on land thus 
treated. 

In the early spring more nuinure may be applied, but it is 
better that this should come from the compost heap made 
with Powell's Chemicals. Follow the application of the 
compost Avith one-horse turning plows, ciosswg the previous 
ploughing, turning- not exceeding four or five inches deep- 
about half the depth of the first ploughing. Then, just 
before it is time to plant, run double-shovel ploughs over the 
lot, crossing the previous furrows, and follow with harrow 
or drag, crossing again to thoroughly make fine. These re- 
peated ploughings, crossing each time every previous one, never 
fail, if the woi-k is done when the land is in proper condition, 
to put it in proper tilth. 
__. Let the planter remember that " a good preparation is hall 
cultivation," and not stop until the land is in proper condi- 
tion. 

In preparing land for tobacco, be sure jou don't plant vari- 
eties unsuited to the soil or type, else failure is inevitable. 
The cause of so much mean, nondescript goods on the mar- 
kets every year is mainly attributable to failure in planting 
the proper varieties on the right kind of soil, and planters 
should carefully note this and sow seed suited both to soil and 
ti/pc. 

17 



If any one knows of a hetter way, then lot him pnfsne it— 
the writer knows of none better. And just here it may be 
Avell to state that perfection is not claimed for any mode or 
practice recommended in this book, but only the best methods 
known to the author are given, for g-uidance to the uninitia- 
ted. We live and learn, but life is too-short to learn every 
g-ood thing: by experience unaided. Every man owes some- 
thing- to those who are to come after him ; to freely give as he 
has freely recei\ ed. 

But the author is not writing for those who know more than 
he does— and doubtless there are very many— but for begin- 
ners, and those having but little experience in tobacco cul- 
ture. He gives no advice which he has not followed in his 
own work, and recommends nothing Avhich experience has not 
commended as the best in theory tested by practice. Those 
who possess a better knowledge of the subject, and whose 
practice is verified by.results, ought by all means to give the 
public the lieneflt of their knowledge and experience. Plan- 
ters will gladlj^ welcome their teaching, and honor them for 
their service. 

But, to I'eturn. Having put the land in nice "order/' lay off 
the rows with a shovel plough, three feet three inches apart, 
and follow, drilling along the furrow Powell's Tip Top Bone 
Fertilizer at the rate of some one hundred and tif ty to thi"ee 
hundred pounds per acre, according to the natural strength of 
the soil and the quantity of manure previously api)lied. Then 
follow with one-horse turning ploughs, lapping four furrows 
on the fertilized trench, and Avhen finished in this manner 
your lot is ready to be planted, Avhen the beds have been 
"patted" with hoes, with "pats" two feet ten inches apart, 
to mark points for setting the plants. In the older portions of 
the tine yellow tobacco country the ap])lications are becoming- 
heavier from year to year, some planters using as much as six 
hundred pounds to the acre. 

New ground, or old field that has grown up and been cut 
down, will reciuire different preparation from f)ld smooth land. 
But on the former our best brights are raised. Any prepara- 
tion that will put the soil in fine condition, clear of I'oots, tufts 
and trash, is all that is re(piired. Expei'ience teaches that if 
hmd is cut down two or three years previous to its being pre- 
pared for tobacco, it greatly facilitates the preparation and 
helps its fertility. Much of tlie vegetable material, both in 
and upon the soil, rots, the roots break easily, and the soil is 
altogether lighter and tinei-. 

18 



While it is economy to dispense with the hand-hoi' in making' 
hills on old land— the plough doing- all the work, as it ought; 
when it can be well done— yet on stvmipj-, rooty and rough 
land, the hoe is Indispensable in the preparation of a hill, as it 
should be made to receive the plant. But before the hills are 
made, it may be well, imless the soil is naturally rich, and 
such is not often the case with soils best adai^ted to yellow 
tobacco, to apply some fertilizing- material to hasten forward 
the plants, and mature them properly and early. Here com- 
mercial fertilizers have done, and are doing- their best work. 
Bulky, coarse manures often do more harm than good on new 
and puffy soils. The smaller the bulk, and the more concen- 
trated the fertilizing- elements the more readily they are 
appropriated and assimilated by the plants, if of the right 
material, and in the most available form. Nitrogen, phospho- 
ric acid, potash, lime and soda, are most necessary for the 
tobacco plant; and a fertilizer which supplies the relative 
quantity of each, and from the proper sources, will never fail 
to show g-ood ettects therefrom, if the rainfall is sufficient to 
(piicken their action. 

Most of the soils best adapted to the tinest tyijcs of tobacco, 
especially bright and sweet fillers, are thin and poor, and need 
plant-food to push the plants forward and rapidly in growth 
and maturity, so that, the product may be ripened and mel- 
lowed of yellow coloi", preparatory^ to being- housed and cured. 

Good crops of fine quality have been produced on these poor 
gray soils by the aid of fertilizers (commercial) alone; and it 
has been demonstrated, that Powell's Tip Top Bone Fertilizer, 
as well as compost made with Powell's Chemicals are wonder- 
fully effective in furnishing- the necessary plant-food at the 
])roper time to insure full crops of extra fine (luality. 

Extensive areas of poor gray silicious soils in the yellow belt 
are rendered capable of producing- g-ood crops of fine yellow 
tobacco, by the aid of commercial fertilizers alone, when of 
composition suited thereto. 

Mode of A})plyiii<j Fertilizers.— 'Phinters differ in the manner 
of applying fertilizers, whether in the hill, drill or broadcast. 
That the same quantity will go further and produce larger 
results the first year, for the quantity used when applied in 
the hill or drill, is generally conceded. But ad\'ocates of 
broadcasting- claim that when the crop, to which the fei-tilizer 
is applied, is to be followed by another in quick succession— 
to be sown in Avheat as soon as the tobacco is removed-then 



broadcasting is the best, for reasons which seem too apparent 
to need explanation. 

Having- prepared the land for hilling-, apply the fertilizer by 
whichever mode the planter prefers, and in such quantity as 
the natural strength of the soil indicates, la.Ning- ofl the rows 
three feet three inches apart, and make the hills about two 
feet ten inches distant from centre to centre • Mark the mea- 
sure on the hoe-handle and require the hillers to apply it fre- 
quently as a guide. The rows should be wider apart than the 
hills, to afford proper cultivation without breaking and bruis- 
ing the plants at the final ploughing— .a matter of no small 
importance, as the least blemish on a fine leaf nearly destroys 
its value as a wrapper. 

Planting.— Haying prepared the hills, you are ready to plant 
any time after the 1st of May. Planting- is often most effectu- 
ally done when the hills are being made in May, and the land 
is moist with the winter's sap, by planting in the afternoon 
the hills made the same day. If properly planted, very few 
of the plants will fail to live. Observe to draw the plants one 
by one from the bed, and handle so as not to bruise them, ft 
is a waste of time and plants to set out very small plants, but 
wait until they are of proper size— the largest leaves about 
two and a half to thi*ee inches wide.' Put a basket of plants 
in the hands of a boy or girl, Avho drops a plant on each hill, 
dropping in one or two rows, according- to age or expertness- 
The men follow, with each a planting peg made of hard wood, 
six inches long, t)ne and a quarter inch in diameter at large 
end, and tapering to a point. Each planter takes a " hand 
plant" to start with (unless the dropper has learned to droi) 
two plants on the first hill), and pushing his planting- peg- 
some two inches into the hill, withdraws the peg, inserts the 
plant, and by a dextrous movement of the peg and the knuc- 
kles of the left hand, closes the dii-t gently but compacth' 
around the roots. He then picks up the plant on the hill as he 
moves forward, and by the time he reaches the next hill has 
adjusted the plant in bis hand to insert into the hole in the 
next hill. Thus the "hand plant"' facilitates the work. I'ry it 
and you Avill be convinced. There is art in planting properly, 
as is shown in the increa,sed number of living monuments 
that attest superior work. But Avhy enter into such minute 
details? say some. T'hat you may start right, shun the errors 
of inexperience, and ]n-actice at the start the best methods, as 
demonstrated by successful practice. 

If the soil is dry when the hills are made, then it will require 
u "season" for planting. The best come with showers., It is 

~'0 



not well to plant soon after a soaking- rain, but wait until the 
laud settles. If the plants are good, seasons favorable, and the 
planting- well done, very few will die if transplanted before 
the 10th of July. After that time all is uncertainty. Hence 
the importance of getting a stand before that time. 

After planting over, it Avill be necessary to replant from 
time to time as seasons occur, embracing every opportunity 
to All up the inissing hills. If cut worms are troublesome, 
hunt for and desti'oy every one as far as i)0ssible; for it is 
useless to put a plant in a hill where one of these pests has 
taken up quarters, and ex])ect it to live and grow. 

Cultivaiiiuj.- It is important to commence cultivation soon 
after planting, to loosen the soil and start the plants growing. 
,Tust at this point many planters fail to do their duty, whtel;/l, 
no subsequent Avork can atone for. Early, rapid and thorJi 
ough cultivation is necessary to produce first-class tobacco) 
If the preparation has been thorough, thrice ploughing, fol- 
lowed each time with a hand-hoe, will sulflce for the crol). 

For the first ploughing, no implement is better than the wing 
coulter, the next best the cultivator or double shovel with the 
coulter points. The second ploughing may be effectually- 
done with the turning plough or cultivator ; if grassy, use the 
first. The last ploughing is most effectually done with three 
furrows with the single shovel— a furrow on each side, then 
splitting the middle with the third and last farrow. 

Never "scrape down" tobacco with the hoe without putting 
back on the hill or bed as much dirt as is scraped down. This 
will prevent baking, and save many plants should a dry spell 
follow the hand-hoe working. 

Any process which stirs the soil effectually and often, andv 
keeps the plants free from grass and weeds, will constitute 
good culti\^ation, no matter how and with what implement | 
done. Old land will require more work in cultivation than ' 
new, and dark grades more than bright. Short singletrees 
should be used after the plants are half grown, to prevent 
tearing and breaking the leaves. 

The yellow grades should be cleared of grass and weeds 
before the first of August, and not plowed thereafter; but 
the hoes may be used at any time to clear out the crop till the 
leaves commence graining. The longer tobacco is ploughed 
the later the plants will be in ripening; therefor(>, the im- 
portance of giving early and thorough cultivatioii. Any one 
who can raise good cabbages ought to know how to cultivate 
tobacco, as the cultivation is very similar. Sometimes it be- 
comes necessary to push the plants forward, Avhere previous 



luaniiriny has proved iua(le(iuate, to hasten vipeiiing, so as to 
(•scape frost and to cure well. I would advise the use of some 
{^ood standard fertilizer, applied aroiuid the plants, in (luan- 
tity about 150 pounds per acre, and earth scraped upon the 
fertilizer around the toi)5 of the hills as applied. Powell's 
Tip Top Bone Fertilizer has proved effectual and may be re- 
lied upon. 

PRUNING AND TOPPING. 

Under this head there is wide difference of opinion. Break- 
ing off the small and inferior leaves of the plant near the 
ground is called "priming,'" or pruning proper, which opera- 
tion is done along with the '"topping," if done at all. There 
are advantages for and against priming, but all resort to top- 
l)ing— plucking out the seed bud and adjacent small leaves 
with the thumb and finger. Some contend that pulling off' 
the lower leaves saps the iilants and retards the growth if the 
weather is dry. That permitting the lower leaves to remain 
on the stalk protects the upper ones from sand and grit, 
makes them cleaner an<l therefore more salable. Sand and 
grit are the terror of the tobacco buyer. On the other 
hand, it is contended by some that by pulling off the lower 
leaves, which are generally useless, the remaining leaves 
I'eceive more nutriment and c(^ntain more wax, oil and gum, 
and that the lower leaves harbor worms and make the worm- 
ing process more tedious. 

It is best to wait until a considerable number of plants 
begin to button for seed l)efore commencing to toj). Top- 
ping should be the work of experienced and trusty hands- 
men who can toi), leaving an>- required number of leaves on 
a plant wirhout coiuiting. The secret of this— no longer a 
secret to the initiated— is, that the topper soon learns to 
know that counting the bottom leaf and the ,leaf that hangs 
over it in the third tier going upward, make nine leaves, in- 
cluding both toi> and bottom leaves. Fixing this in his mind, 
the topper has oniy to add to or deduct from this index leaf 
marking nine, to leave any desired number of leaves on each 
plant with certainty and without coiuiting. Young man, if 
>ou don't know hoAv, get stnne old negro to show you. Toi»- 
ping, you will find, is a slow business if you have to count the 
leaves on all the i)lants toi>ped. If the plants are not 
"primed," then the "bottom" leaf must be fixed by the eye, 
looking upward for the leaf in the third tier,' which hangs 
over it, to catch the cue as before. If i)riming is done, don't 
err in pulling off too many leaves. No regular rule can be 



given, so the planter must judge for himself. The reason 
given for waiting until many plants are ready to be topped 
is mainly that more plants may ripen together, and be ready 
for the knife at the same time. This is an advantage that ap- 
plies with strong foi-ce to all tobacco intended for tlue curing. 
The number of leaves to be left on each plant varies ac- 
cording to the time the work is done, early or late, the 
appearance and in-ospective development of the plant, the 
season, whether i)ropitious or unfavorable, strength of the 
soil, and amount of fertilizing material applied. On medium 
soils, in ordinary seasons, the first topping should be from 
ten to thirteen leaves— rarely more— for brights. For sweet 
fillers from nine to ten, and for dark^ rich shipping, from 
eight to nine leaves are enough. As the season advances 
reduce the number of leaves accordingly; remembering that 
quality, moi-ethan quantity regulates returns. 

AVORMING AND SUCKERING. 

Many devices have been resorted to in order to lessen the 
niunber and mitigate the ravages of the horn worm, but the 
lack of general and continued efforts from year to year has 
brought only partial relief. Some years they come in gi-eat 
numbers, and, despite the best efforts of the planter, seriously 
damage his crop. Perhaps the next year they are few, and 
give him no trouble. It is the nature of this insect to raise 
at least two broods during the year. The hawk-moth or 
tobacco-fly usually makes his appearance in Virginia in the 
month of May. The eggs deposited by the first moths hatch 
out in from five to seven dajs larva; or Avorms. The worm 
sheds its outer skin twice before it^gets its growth. The grow- 
ing stage of the worm lasts from twenty-five to thirty days, 
and after it has attained its growth it goi-ges itself a few days 
longer, and then crawls or burrows into the ground, where 
it soon passes into the pupa state; and after some twenty- 
three or twenty -five days from the time of its crawling into 
the ground the pupa sends forth a moth to lay more eggs and 
hatch out more worms. Each moth is capable of laying on 
an average two hundred eggs. So that for ev^ery moth in 
May we may reasonably expect at least one hundred worms 
of the first brood; and if none of these are destroyed, but all 
allowed to change to moths, and these latter to raise a horde 
of worms, what wonder that the second brood sometimes ap- 
pears in such countless numbers as to defy all efforts to 
destroy them before the.y have ruined the crop. E\ery moth 

23 



MOST EVERY 



The Black 

SHOW Lqcations.where: ' 



fARMER 



// itnts to knozu how to raise Larqt 
Crops Cheaply. I^have just had 
printed a handsome new book 
entitled " Points About Fertil 
iZERS," -which contains explicit 
directions written by Iradinti 
n^rictilturisls on the land best 
adapted, its preparation, the cnl- 
tivation, fertilization and mar- 
keting of Wheat, Corn, Oatcs, 
Buckwheat, Iri'h and Swerf Pota- 
toes, Melons, Grapes, St7a7vbe>ries, 
Peanuts, Omons, Tomatoes, To- 
bacco and Cabbages, with minute 
directions for each month in the 
year for the general work of the 
Farm, Orchard and Garden. Hoiv 
Plants Feed, Hoiu They Get Nitro- 
gen, ""'Hovj to Treat the Boys,"" and 
many other things farmers are 
interested in ; tells all about how 

to MAKE GOOD FERTILIZERS AT 

HOME at about $12.00 per 
TON, with POWRLIv'S PRE- 
PARED CHEMICALS and 
POWEIJ/S RED- BAG FHR- 
TIIvIi^ERj a high-grade ammo- 
niated fertilizer. 

Send two 2-cent (4 cents) stamps 
to pay postage, and I will send 
you THE BOOK FREE. 

i^^^ Sent to Farmers onlv. 




GUGGENHEIMER, WeIL 



POTS ON THIS Map 




By advantageous 
Shipping Arrange- 
ments I am now pre- 
pared to furnish Farmers 
in the Eastern, Western 
and far Southern States with 
about SAME freight RATES 
as Purchasers in the Middle 
States pay. 

TESTIMONIALS 

FROM 

NEARLY EVERY STATE. 



W. S, POWELL 

PURE 

FERTILIZERS. 

BALTl]\IORE, MD. 



ought to be destroy otl as tliey appear, and this may be dt>ii«- 
to g-reat extent by injecting a lew drops of sweetened Cobalt 
(Which is a poison) into the Howers of the Petunia, Honey- 
suckle, or Jamestown (Jirapson) weed, which will give them 
their tinai (juietus. But this hunt lor the moth is n.ot g'cneral, 
and if it were some would escape. But if every planter woiihi 
wage a Avar of extermination on the flrst hrood of worms— - 
unfortunately a thing rarely done— they would never appear 
in such unconquerable hordes later in the season. The suck- 
ers should be pulled off every week as they a])pear, and ought 
never to be permitted to get over two inches long; for, if 
permitted to grow larg-e they abstract much that Avould other- 
wise go to perfect a rich, silky leaf. No planter need expect 
a crop of tine grade who does not pull off the suckers while 
small, and ])revent the horn-worms from riddling- the leaves. 



KIPENING. 

The Leaf type, as contra-di.ft.inguished from Ciyar tobaco, 
is known to be ripe when its color changes from green to i 
greenish yellow, thickens, so that Avhen the leaf is folded over 

— the under surface being outward -and pressed between tlie 
tlnunb and finger it cracks open. The upper surface of the 
leaf is roughened, for reasons stated under Science of Curiiii! 
YeUoir 7'o?)((eco, and generally of a mottled yellow and greei 
color. Ripening of this type usually takes place in Yirgin'i'. 
and North Carolina in about five to six weeks after the plant< 
have been topped, sometimes longer when growth has been 
retarded by drought. The Cigar tyi)e ripens about two week-^ 
sooner after topping. 

CUTTING AND HOUSING. 

T)o not be in a hurrj^ to Ijegin cutting your tobacco until r 
is ripe, and enough fully and uniformly ripe to fill a barn. . 
thin butcher or shoe knife, well sharitened, and wrai)ped witi 
a soft cloth around the handle and extending an inch alonj. 
the blade, will do the work effectually and be easy to tht 
hand. Try it. Put knives into the hands of experienced cur 
trrs only, men who know ripe tobacco, and will select plant 
uniform in color and texture, and will cut no other. Havo 
> our sticks already in the field, «nd placed in piles,i;onvenient 

- sticking a stick vertically in the ground over each pile that 
thej' may be more easily found when wanted. Pine sticks. 



ri\od three fourths ol" an inch by one and one-rourth iiieh, 
and four and one-half feet lony, drawn smooth, are best. 

Start together two cutters and one stick holder —the cutters 
carrying- two rows each and the stick-holder walking between 
them. The cutter takes hold of the plant with his left hand 
at the top near where the knife enters the stalk; with his 
right he splits the stalk down the centre (observing to guide 
the knife so as not to sever the leaves) to within three inches 
of the point he intends to sever the stalk from the hill ; and 
as the knife descends his left hand follows the slit or opening, 
and Avhen the plant is severed from the hill, by a dexterous 
movement of the left hand the plant is straddled across the 
stick in the hands of the holder. When the stick has received 
about six medium plants, if intended for brights, it is ready 
to go to the barn, either cax-ried by hand if near, or hauled on 
a wagon if distant. If it is necessary to use the Avagon, pre- 
pare a bed sixteen feet l<jng to hold three coops on piles, on 
which place tobacco as cut, and after placing twenty-five or 
thirty sticks of cut tobacco on each coop, drive to the barn to 
be unloaded. 

Tobacco suitable for brights i^ best handled in this wa.>', as 
it is bruised less than if handled by any other mode- Try it, 
planters, and knoiv for yourselves. Very heavy tobacco will 
break less if , after being cut by the above mode, the sticks 
are placed gently on the ground and the plants allowed to 
Avilt before being removed to the barn. But tobacco of m<'- 
dium size bruises less to handle it Avithout Avilting. Cutting 
and housing by this mode you never ha^'e any siui-burned 
tobacco. For brights, it has been found best to commence 
curing- at once, as soon as the barn can be tilled. 

"SUN-CURED TOBACCO." 

Just here it may be well to give our practice in sun-curing. 
If the crop is too rich and coarse for brights, then it maj^ be 
good policy to cure it sweet. To do this properly, erect 
scaffolds at or near the barns, on Avhich place the tobacco 
as soon as cut. But some, in order to obviate the hauling of 
heavy green tobacco, place the scaffolds in or near the to- 
bacco field. But it is never safe to scaffold tobacco away 
from the barn ; for after the leaf is partially dry it oug-ht 
never to be caught out in the rain; Avhich may happen if 
tobacco is placed on scaffolds away from the barn. When 
rain threatens, that on scaffolds near the barn may very soon 
be placed out of danger, but not so that on scaffolds afar f>ff. 



CURING S^VEET FILLERS AVITH FLUES. 

To cure fillers with flues, wheu the tobacco is placed in 
the barn as soon as cut, raise the heat in the barn to eighty- 
five or ninetj' degrees Fahrenheit, and then go about otlu-r 
business. Kindle Arcs in the flues ever3' morning, raising the 
heat to ninety degrees, and then leave as befoj-e, and continue 
to do this for four or five days until the tobacco is thor- 
oughly yellowed. If the tobacco has much sap, it may be 
nccessarj' to continue the yellowing process from five to seven 
days to yelh^w properly. After this very little flue heat will 
be necessary to dry out the tobacco. If rains occur before 
the tobacdo is thoroughly cured, raise fires in the flues and 
dry the leaf, as often as may be necessary. 



TO CURE IVCAHOGANY COLOR. 

After the tobacco has yellowed sufficiently on scaftolds or 
\Mider flues, and when the leaves have assumed a mottled, 
piebald appearance, run the heat to one hundred degrees iind 
let it remain at that point for three or four hours. Then i-aise 
•the heat tAvo and a half degrees an hour until one hundred 
and thirty is reached. Keep the heat at this point until the 
leaf is cured, and then move up gradually to one hundred and 
sixty or one hundred and seventy, and thus cure stalk and 
stem. If cured properly there will be much of the leaf ma- 
iKujanij, while the remainder Avill nui from a briglit dai)pk' to 
a cherry red. 

'♦SHIPPING TOBACCO." 

Dark heavy shipping"— and nothing which does not possess 
size and substance is fit for this grade— may be cured with 
flues better than in anj- other way. Smoke from the oi)en 
Avood tire is objectionable, and with the flue you get the heat, 
Avhich is all that is wanted, without the smoke. Cui-ing with 
opeii wood fires belongs to the past, and none but the old 
JJourbons will continue the old practice, because they know 
no better. Taste and fashion are against smoke, and nothing 
else is needed to banish the old and recommend the new mode. 
Jf a dai-k color is desired, which is not so fashionable as for- 
mei-ly, it can be secured as easily over flues as over wood 
fii-es. IJut the world wants colory tobacco, and this can be 
produced certainly better with the flue than in any other way. 
Besides, by the flue the leaf is cured sweet and free from 
smoke or soot. 



A skilful Ciller can procTuce the colors most in demand, and 
by the flue better, and with more certainty, than in any other 
way. The main object of the author is to induce ])lanters, 
who have never used flues, to try them for all grades. 



CURING "BRIGHT YELLO^W TOBACCO." 

There are two modes for curing- yellow tobacco— one with 
charcoal and the other with hues. The first is the primitive 
nu)de, but is fast giving" place to the latter, which is cheaper 
and more efficient, and is being adopted by most of our best 
planters. The chief agent in either mode is heat— a dry, cur- 
ing- heat— to expel the sap from the leaves, stems and stalks 
of the plants, and catch the color, veUou\ next to Nature's 
color, green, and >to fix it indelibly. This is the science of 
curing yellow tobacco. There are soAen prismatic colors— that 
of green tobacco occupying- the middle of the prism. Bj- the 
process of nature, leaves in drying descend in color from- 
green, first to yellow, then orange, then red, and finally lose 
all color as they go to decaj'. Now, a quick dry heat, so regu- 
lated as to dry out the leaf and catch the yellow, and fix it, is 
the modus operandi of curing fancy bright tobacco. 

A barn containing- seven hundred sticks of green tobacco, 
six medium plants on each stick, holds along with the tobacco 
four thousand five hundred to five thousand pounds of water, 
which must be expelle<l in from eigty-five to t)ne hundred 
hours. 

Charcoal produces an open, drj' heat, well suited for the 
purpose; but its preparation is costly, its use tedious, dirty 
and laborious and it deposits a black dust on the leaf that is 
objectionable. With fines (see diagrams) constructed with 
furnace and pipes, the wood is burned as cut in the for(»st or 
old field, and the whole process of curing- is less costlj' and 
less laborious, and the tobacco cured therewith free from 
dust, and has a sweeter flavor. The flue process possesses so 
many advantages over all other modes of cvu-ing tobacco, is 
so safe, if properly constructed; and free from smoke, that 
when its merits become better known, it will come into gen- 
ci-al use and supersede all other modes. 

The first step in curing- is called the Steami}Kj or YcUoiriiKj 
Process. Medium tobacco will require fromi twenty-four 
to thirty hours steaming at about ninety degrees to yellow 
sufficiently ; but tobacco with more or less sap, larger or 
smaller, will require a longer or shorter time to yellow. Here 
the judgment of the curer must be his guide. Inexperienced 



]»l;intcrs Avoiild d(j Avell to procure the services ol' an exitert 
curer, if tliey have tobacco suitable for fine yellow. The 
planter saves in enhanced value of his crop many times the 
monej' paid to the curer, and besides, by close attention, he 
maj' learn in one season to cure well himself. Theorj- alone, 
however g-ood, and directions, however minute, will not do 
here,^but it is practice that must qualify one to cure well. 

When it is remembered that no two plants are exactly alike, 
no two barns preciselj' similar iu cAery particular, and that 
the weather may change every hour, is it reasonable that a 
fixed progrannue can be followed for every curing- with an\- 
certain hope of success. ? The experienced know better. 
On Avork so variable, only general directions can be given. 
The planter here must use his head as well. 

The next step is called Fi.H)ig the Color. When the tobacco 
is suttlciently yellowed, best leaves of a uniform yellow, and 
the greener (mes of a light pea-green color, it is time to ad- 
vance the heat to one hundred degrees ; observing the leaves 
closely to detect sweating, which will soon redden and spoil 
the color, unless driAen oft. To do this, open the door and let 
it stand open and if after an hour or more the SAveat has not 
disappeared, open a space between the logs on opposite sides 
of the barn to let iu more air, and permit it to remain open 
until the tobacco has dried off all appearance of the sweat. 
To dry off the sweat speedily, sprinkle dry straw or hay over 
the fioor and set fire thereto, using .iust enough straw to 
accomi)lish the desired result. Eight at this point more 
curings are spoiled thaii at any other stage of the i)rocess. 
It may be well to remember what is a fact, that at least tivc 
curings are spoiled by proceeding too fast, to one failure from 
going too slow. Now stick a pin heix*. 

But to go back to the barn, where we have .iust dried the 
leaf, and where the thermometer indicates a fall of five or ten 
degrees— but this need not concern the curer to put him out 
of hope, for a little cooling under the circumstances was ne- 
cessary— we close up the opening and raise the heat to one 
hundred degrees. But a skilful curer detects the first indica- 
tions.of sweat, and prevents it by regiilating the heat and 
ventilation. 

Keep the heat at one hiuidred degrees for four hours, and 
tlien ad\-ance two and a half degrees every two hours, until 
one hundred and ten degrees are reached. Here jou have 
leached the most critical point in the difficult process of cur- 
ing bright tobacco. The condition and a])peai:ance of the 
tobacco must now be the curer's guide. No one can success- 

:5U 



fully cure tobacco iintilhe can distinguish the ell'ects of too 
much or too little heat in the appearance of the leaf. Too 
little heat, in tixing- the color, operates to stain the face side 
of the leaf a dull brown color, and is called "sponging-," and 
may be known to the novice by its appearance only on the 
face side ot the leaf. Too much heat reddens the leaf, tirst 
around the edge and then in spots, which are visible on hofh 
sides. Now, to prevent sponging on the one hand and spot- 
ting on the other, is the aim of the experienced curer. No 
definite time can be laid down to riui from one hundred and 
ten to one hundred and twenty degrees. Sometimes four hours 
will suffice, then again eight hours is fast enough. While it 
is usual at this stage to advance about five degrees every two 
hours for mediuni tobacco, the condition of the tobacco often 
indicates, to the practiced eye, the necessity for slower or 
faster movement. But it is safe not to advance above one 
hundred and ten degrees until the tails begin to curl up at the 
ends. Arrived at one hundred and twenty or one hundred 
and twentj'-five degrees, this is the curing process. The 
heat should remain at or near these figures initil the leaf is 
cured, which will require from six to eight hours, according 
to the amount of sap in the leaf to be expelled. When the 
leaf appears to be cured, advance five degrees every hour up 
to one hundred and seventy degrees and remain until stalk 
and stem ai'e thoroughly cured. To run above one hundi-ed 
and eighty degrees is to endanger scorching the tobacco, and 
perhaps biu-ning both barn and tobacco. 

To recapitulate- 
First. Yellowing process, 90 degrees from 24 to 30 hours. 
Second. Fixing color, lOO'degrees, 4 hours. 

" " " 100 to 110, 2} degrees every 2 houi-s. 

110 to 120, 4 to 8 hours. 
Third. Curing the leaf, 120 to 12.5, (5 to 8 hours 
Fourth. Curing stalk and stem, 125 to 170, 5 degrees an hour. 

And continue at one hundred and seventy degrees until 
stalk and stem ai-e thoroughly killed and dry, which usually 
requires from 12 to I.") hoiirs. 

THE NEW METHOD. 

The curing process for yellow tobacco, as heretofore laid 
down, was first published in the year 1871, and was the fli*st 
systematic treatise given to the public on the difficult art of 
curing yellow tobacco; and it has remained substantially uu- 

31 



altoro<l through six editions of the pamphlet, ai^-yVeg'ating' 
largely over 100,000 copies. Thousands in several States have 
taken it for their guide, and been enabled to leai-n to cure 
successfully, without anj^ other assistance. But the yellow- 
tobacco industry has greatly progressed and extended during- 
the past decade, and new light has come through experience 
to further perfect the art of curing. 

The following- is given as tlic latest improvements in curing- 
tobacco : « 

House the tobacco as soon as cut, and after wariuing up the 
l)arnfor two or three hours, at a temperature of abovit tK) 
degrees, advance the heat rapidly up to 125 degrees— or as 
high as it will bear without scalding the tobacco— letting the 
heat remain at 135 degrees only a few minutes, and then, by 
drawing the fires and turning the dampei-s, cut otf the heat 
and let the temperature of the barn descend to 90 degrees. 

This is generally called "sapping." The ratinnale of the 
process is this: The heat, by expansion, opens the sap cells 
and starts the water to the surface, facilitates evapoi-ation 
and hastens the yellowing process. 

This "limbering ui>" process, of high heat at the start, must 
be of sliorf duration, or else great injury Avill be done to the 
tobacco. 

Following this mode the yellowing process is greatly short- 
cued, requiring from four to eight hours less to yellow suffi- 
ciently, and also hastens the second stage of curing, fixing the 
color. 

It is well to state that there is so great a difference in the 
character of tobacco grown in different localities that no rule 
can be given for the yellowing process applicable to all. The 
tobacco of middle and western North Carolina will yellow in 
much less time than that grown in middle Vii-giuia. Then 
again, tobacco will bear higher temperature in the yellowing 
l)rocess during some years than in others. Notably the season 
of 1884, was so dry and tobacco held so little sap when ripe, 
that many commenced yellowing at 100 degrees, and had the 
leaf cured in fifty hours. But this is exceptional, and for 
general practice would spoil both color and tobacco. 

The season, thei-efore, it must be borne in mind, greatlj- 
determines the amount of heat the tobacco will require to be 
yellowed and cured. 

Some of the patented fines are so constructed that the heat 
is easily controlled, and the tobacco smoked or steamed, or 
both, as may be necessary in the yellowing stage. Some 

32 



tobacco will requii-e neither to yellow rij-ht, while some other 
will drj' up {?reen or rod without yellowing, it smoke or steam 
be not used to assist the yelloAving- process. Smoke or steam 
will facilitate the yellowing- ot thin poor tobacco, holdinu- 
very little sap. Wetting the barn tioor from time to time will 
assist in yellowing tobacco. Then there is an occasional barn 
of tobacco that defies all the known modes and appliances to 
yellow or cure bright. 

Rut for all pi-actical purposes, whenever the curer has mas- 
tered a knowledge of the eifects of too much or too little 
heat, as evidenced in the color of the tobacco, clearly de- 
scribed heretofore, he possesses a key to solve the difficult 
problem in the science of curing tobacco. By close observa- 
tion this lesson may soon be learned and then success is easy. 

After curing, as soon as the tobacco is sufficiently soft to 
move, you may run it up'in the roof of the barn and crowd 
it close, or if the barn is needed for other curings, the tf)bacco 
may be carried to the storage barn or bulked down in any 
dry house on the premises. But be sure that nothing is 
bulked with green stalks or swelled stems, for if such are 
placed bowii in bulk it Avill be sure to heat an«l utterly ruin. 

THE SCIENCE OF CURING YELLO^\r 
TOBACCO. 

The first step in explaining the process is to give in outline 
the chemical constituents of green tobacco. 

Besides its inorganic (mineral) elements— lime, potash, sod:i, 
magnesia, alumina, ferric oxide, phosphorus, sulphur, chlor- 
ine, and silica— it contains the following organic substances : 
starch, glucose, albuminoids, resinous and fatty compounds 
'and the vegetable acids, pectic, citric, malic, oxalic and 
acetic. And of the combinations of organic elements there 
are fovnid in tobacco, nicotine, nicotianine, celluloid and 
chloro])hyl. 

RIPENING OF TOBACCO. 

After the plant has attained its full growth, the leaves cease 
to expand and "granulation, due to the distention of the indi- 
vidual cells of the leaf through accumulation of inter- 
cellular substance begins/' which in North Carolina and 
Virginia usually takes place from five to six weeks after tc^p- 
ping, hastened or retarded according to season, soil and time 
of ]>lanting. Then, if the weather is dry and favorable for a 
few days longer, the color changes rapidly from green to a 

33 



pale yellowish gi'cen, as the plants get ready lor the knife. 
The main cause of the change in the color of the leaves is dne 
to the chlorophyl— the coloring m.-itter in leaves— beinji' 
changed to xanthrophyl. 

CHANGES IN TOBACCO INDUCED BY FLUE 
CURING. 

The temperature of W) to 1(X) degrees Fahr. continue<l for 
30 to 36 hours vinder the tobacco, induces slight fermentation, 
expands the leaf cells and starts the sap to the surface, when 
evaporation commences in earnest. The vegeta})le acids, act- 
ing on the starch, glucose and albumenoids, produce at tirst 
slight fermentation— somewhat after the ripening of an apple 
or pear, and causes a change of color in the leaf, superinduced 
hy the same reasons or agencies whicli induce change in the 
color of a ripening apple or pear. 

In the chemical changes produced in the incipient curing 
stages— the yelloAving of the leaAcs— sugar is formed, amnu)- 
nia evolved and chlorophyl changed into xanthyne. Noav, 11' 
the temperature is raised slowly at this stage of the drying 
process, so as not to oxidise the organic properties in the 
leaf, the color is preserved till the leaf is dried. But a too 
rapidly advancing temperature causes oxidation and dis- 
coloring, or rather reddening of the leaf, sometimes to the 
extent of scalding— virtually cooking it. And so, if the heat 
is not properly advanced and adjusted and fermentation too 
long continued, the yellow color fades into brown. To so 
regulate the color by heat as to catch and fix it in the leal' 
Avhile the sap is being expelled and the leaf dried, is the sci- 
ence of curing yellow tobacco. 

What is termed "sweating*' during the curing process, is 
the accumulation of sa]), driven by the heaf to the surface of 
the leaves more rapidly than the ventilation will enable the 
hot dry air to absorb. And whenever this condition occurs, 
the experienced curer knows it results from inadecpiate or 
imperfect Aentilation. For, whenever the ventilation is 
l)roperly adjusted, there will be no sweating— the current of 
warm or hot dry air induced by the draft will take up— absorb 
—the moisture thrown to the surface as fast as it is evolved. 

"Sijonging" is' produced by oxidation caiised by fermenta- 
tion too long continued, and indicates the incipient stage of 
what is called "house-b\irn," ''pole-sweat" or ''barn-rot." 
Proper ventilation, as well as heat, is necessary to so dry the 
leaf, without sweating or sponging, as to catch and fix the 



yellow color, .Tol)iH'(-o e-incd with a slis"litgTecn color, whicli 
disappears before it is sent to market, is the fashionable color 
for fancy stock. 

DON'T SPOIL TOBACCO AFTER IT IS CURED. 

If the teniperaturc is raised above ItiO deji-rees— and for 
some tobacco above 150— much of the vegetable oil is ex- 
l>elled, and thei-efore the "life" of the tobacco killed and 
thereby seriously damaged in other respects- evolving- and 
lixing- in the lea\es ammonia and acids which bite the tongue, 
and injure the flavor. 

Tlie unscientitic'i)lanter may know nothing- of the chemical 
constituents of tobacco or the rationale of the etfects of heat 
in inducing a pale green color in the leaf, or why heat and 
e\ aporation properly adjusted prevent oxidizing and red- 
dening thereof, or that induces sweating and sponging and 
wherefore: but every one who reads this short monograi)ii 
will the better luulerstand why the changes and meta- 
niorphoscs do occur and the reasons therefor. 

ORDERING. 

If, after the tol>acco is'cured, the weather remains dry and 
it fails to gvt soft readilj-, so that it can be moxed, it nia.>- be 
brought in order in the following way : Place green bushes 
with the lea\es on over the floor and sprinkle Ava'.er over 
them copiously; if the tobacco is very dry and the atmos- 
phere contains but little moisture, and if the weather is cool, 
a little tire kindled in the flues will assist in making the 
tobacco soft. Straw, \vet or made so, will ansAver the same 
purpose. If the weather is damp, there will b(; no necessit>' 
to use either straw, brush or water. But when it is necessary 
to use any means to order tobacco, it is best to apply them in 
the afternoon, that the tobacco may be removed the next 
morning. 

If the weather continues warm and damp or rainy, tobacco 
that remains hanging Avill be apt to change color, unless 
dried out by flues or charcoal. When this becomes necessary, 
build small fires at first, and raise the heat gradnally. 
* 

STRIPPING. 

Tobacco should never be stripped from the stalks except 
in i)lial)le order, and the leases on every plant should be 
carefully assorted, and every grade tied up sei)arately. 



risually there will be three grades of leaf, assorted witli 
referenee to cok)r and size, and two of lug-s. Of leaf tie six 
to eight leaves in a bundle, and of lug-s eight to ten. As 
fast as j'ou strij), either hang the "hands" on stieks-twenty- 
five to each stiek and hang up or bulk down in two layers, 
the heads of hands or bundles facing outward. The latter 
mode is best, if you intend to sell in winter order loose, on 
the warehouse floors. If bulked down watch frequently to 
see that it does not heat. If the bulk becomes warm it must 
be broken up, aired and rebulked, or hung up if too soft. It 
i,s safer always to hang up as soon as stripped, unless you 
design to sell soon, and strike down in "safe-keeping order" 
in spring or svnumer. It is considered in "safe order" when 
the leaf is pliable, and the stem will crack half way down the 
tie. 

I'ACKING. 

If you .sell loose, deliver in large luiiform piles— such will 
costless, and yoia- tobacco bring more in price. But to ^ell 
in a distant market, pack in tierces— half hogsheads make 
the best and cheapest -to weigh about four hundred pounds 
net, taking care not to press the tobacco so as to bruise it, 
or pack it too closely together. The best leaf is wanted for 
wrappers, and it must open easily when shaken in the hand. 
Pack one grade only in each tierce, uniform in color and 
length; but if it becomes necessary to put more than one 
grade in a tierce, place strips of paper or straAv between to 
mark and separate them. Pack honestly, for honesty is 
always the best policy. The man who "nests" his tobacco 
will certainly go on the "Black List," and buyers have good 
memories. 

If your tobacco is. ^/fe, t<(>u)i(l and niceJu ]iandle<l, you will 
ha\ e the satisfaction of getting, at th(> least, a remunerating 
piiee for it, although i)oor and nondescript stock may be 
selling for less than the cost of production. The world out- 
side of this country makes, as a rule, low grades plenty, and 
at a cast to raise much less than we can compass. We must 
l)lant less surface, fertilizer heavier, and culti\ate and man- 
age better, if we would get the best prices. 



RESUME. 

The following- is taken from a circvilar prepared for me by 
Major Ragiand, and Is the svibstauce of his manual "boiled 
down." 

The tobacco plant thrives best in a rich, warm, Avelbdrained 
soil, and can be successfully grown from the eiiuator to be- 
yond the fiftieth parallel of latitude, showing- a most wonder- 
ful adaptation to climate. 

Beyond any other field crop grown, tobacco requires "liigh 
farming," i. e., heavy manui-ing and thorough tillage ; and no 
crop responds moi-e readily or bountifully, Avhen the right 
types are planted on soils adapted thereto, and the product 
properly ciiltivated, cured and handled. 

Soils adapted to Types.— A deep, rich soil overlaying a retl 
or dark brown subsoil, is best suited for the dark, rich expoi-t 
type. A gravelly or sandy soil, with a red or liglit-l)iown 
subsoil, is best adapted to the production of sweet fillers and 
stemming tobaccos. Alhi vials and rich fiats produce the best 
cigar stock. White burley is most successfully groAvn on a 
dark, rich limestone soil. For yellow^ wrappers, smokers and 
cutters, a gray, sandy or slaty top-soil with a yellowish porous 
subsoil is preferable. The land must be loamy dry and 
warm, rather than close, clammy and cold ; and the finer and 
whiter the sand therein, the svu-er the indication of its toor- 
< )j)gh adaptation to the yellow type. The soil so greatly affects 
tlie character and (luality of the products, that success is 
attainable only where the right selection of both soil and 
\ ariety is made for each plat planted, and planters do well to 
hq^'d this suggestion. 

Varieties Suited for the Several Tt/prs— For dark, rich "ship- 
Iting," nothing- has been found superior to the following:— 
James Kiver Blue Prior, Lacks or Beat-All and Medley Prior. 
For sweet fillers : Sweet Oronoko and Flaiiagan, For steui- 
uiing : Long Leaf and Broad Leaf Gooch, Hester, Tuckahoe 
and Big Oronoko. For mahogany wrappers: Primus, Tuck- 
ahoe, Hobgood, Yellow Prior, Flanagan and Gold Leaf. For 
cutters: Hyco, White-stem Oronoko, Yellow Oronoko, Sillvy 
Pi-ior and Granville Yellows For yellow wi-appers and fillers : 
Sterling, Primus, Granville Yellow, White-stem Oronoko, 
Tuckahoe, Hester, Long Leaf Gooch, Yellow Oronoko and 
Yellow Prior. 



Ti-lal will (leterniine what variety is best for any locality 
as no one variety is best for all locations. To plant varieties 
unsiiited to the type, or on soil unartaptert thereto, is to invite 
failure every time. 

The leading- cigar varieties are : Connecticut and Pennsyl- 
vania Seed Leaf, Imported and Amei'ican Grown Havana, 
Cleneral Grant, Bradley Broad Leaf and several Spanish 
Strains. 

Start Ri(jht.— The planter should select and prepare land 
suited to the type he purposes to raise, and then sow seeds of 
\ arieties recommended herein for the types specitied, in g-ood 
time, on beds thoroughly prepared and fertilized— warm 
southern and soiitheastern slopes preferred -and cover the 
beds with thin canvas. 

South of 37° north latitvide seed may be sown from 15th of 
Decemoer to 10th of March— the month of January prefera- 
ble. Further north, sow later. Sow at the rate of one ouiice 
of seed to the 100 stjuare yards, and firm the soil Avith the feet 
or lightly brush them in. Raking buries the seeds too deeji 
for successful germination. If the seed beds are thoroughly 
nuuuired and canvassed as directed, they will reiiuire but lit- 
tle further attention, and the i)lants be ready for transplant- 
ing soon after 1st of May. Plant no tobacco after 1st of Jul>-, 
but fill up the missing- hills with field peas or other crop. 

FreiJfDations, Manurinu, Etc.— To grow a paying- crop of 
tobacco, the soil must be thoroughly i)repared and put in fine 
tilth and be heavily manured. No soil is naturallj' so rich 
that the product is not materially increased and made finer 
and better by the application of manure. Both domestic and 
conunercial manures are successfullj' used under tobacco. 
And e.vi)erience has demonstrated that it is best to use them 
in conjiinction— either tog-ether in comjiost which is best, or 
by applying the domestic manure broadcast and drilling- the 
conunercial material when preparing the land for planting. 

The usual practice is, for the leaf types, to run the rows 
three feet three to four inches wide— to facilitate through 
rultivation— and set the plants in hills or drills two feet ten to 
thiee feet apart. White Burley and Cigar Tobacco is set 
c- loser. 

("ult ivat ion.— Commence cultiv ation as soon as the trans- 
jjlanted plants have taken root, which will be in from ten to 
fifteen daj'S after setting out, and continue to stir the soil with 
plow and hoe e\ ery two weeks until the lea\ es begin to lap 
across the rows; after which the hand hoe alone must be used. 

Frequent cultivation, when the plant is yoiuig, tends to pro- 

38 



rriotc rapid and vigorous g'rowth, early development, and 
ripening, essential to the yield and ({uality of the product. 

Any mode of cultivation which is frequent and thorough, 
and verj' similar for the cabbage crop, will suit tobacco. 
Different soils re(iuire different utensils and cultivation, and 
therefore the judgment of the planter must guide him, as no 
fixed rules can be successf ullj' followed. The diversity of 
soils and the vicissitude of seasons preclude any fixed line of 
action. 

Pruniiiu and Topiniiy. -So soon as the plants shall have at- 
tained sufiicieut size and the seed-button is discernible, prune 
otf the small lower leaves of the dark export type to six 
inches up from the ground and pinch out the seed-bud, leav- 
ing eight to ten leaves on the plant, the number left varying 
according to the fertility of the soil. An average of nine 
leaves to the plant makes the richest and most saleable 
product. 

For the yellow and other manufacturing types it is best not 
to prune, but to gather the lower leaves as they ripen and 
cure them for smokers. 

White Burley and Cigar tobacco may be topped leaving ten 
to fifteen leaves to the plant. 

Wormuig and Suckeriinj.— The bud and horn worms must 
be carefully picked from the plants as they make their ap- 
pearance, or they will inflict great damage to the crop. The 
former is most destructive early and before the plants are 
topped; the latter comes in two broods, the first in June, and 
if these are destroyed, the quantity in August and Septem- 
ber, (their second appearance), will be greatly curtailed. 
Various modes for destroying worms and moth have been 
resorted to, but none so sviccessfully as hand-picking and 
killing. 

Suckers will sprout at the axils of leaf and stalk after the 
Ijlants are topped, and these must be pulled off as fast as they 
attain the length of two and three inches. If permitted to 
grow longer they sap the juices of the plant and detract from 
the size and richness of the leaves. 

Cnttinu and Housing.— B,ipe tobacco of the commercial leaf 
type is known by the graining and thickening of the leaf and 
change of color— the leaf assuming a yellowish and sometimes 
mottled yellow and green appearance— and when the luider 
surface of the leaf will crack open on pressure between the 
thvniib and finger when folded over. 

White Burley and cigar tobacco are harvested not so ripe 
as indicated for the leaf types. 
3y 



Tobacco or the .several types arc hung' in several waj'S : 
Some cut the plants by s[)litting-thera down the middle of the 
stalks and straddling' them across laths; some spear the 
I)lants, using a spear-like instrument hollow at one end to fit 
the lath; others string- the leaves, pulling them from the 
l)lants as they ripen and stringing thera upon wired sticks or 
laths, while others use cotton twine in the place of wire. 

Modes of Ct(,ri)tg.— The dark export type is still mainly cured 
in log barns dried over open wood tires. But it is only a 
i|iiestion of time when the flue, so indispensable for curing 
the yellow type, will be used for curing this type also. Creo- 
sote imparts no desirable qualities to any type, and the taste 
grows every ^ear more and more in favor of unsmoked 
tobacco. 

The sweet tiller is partially <lried by sun and air and after- 
ward cured by flues. 

The yellow wrapper and cutter type is cured entirely by 
the use of flues. 

The cigar type and white Burley are cured mainly by air- 
drying. 

To specify every detail of the several modes of curing the 
different types would extend this article greatly bej'ond the 
limits assigned, and we therefore reserve for a future publi- 
cation information covering the latest and best' practice for 
all the types. 

The tobacco plantei- should bear in mind that no crop is 
more exacting than tobacco ; that small crops receive timely 
and better attention, and are more profitable than large ones. 
No crop grown in the United States will pay more handsome 
returns than tobacco when properly grown and managed. 

JhdiiJliny Product dftcr Curing.— Many fine crops are ruined 
after being cured bj^ rough and careless handling in stripiiing, 
assorting, bulking and packing. Tobacco should never be 
handled except when in "order" or "case"— i. 6 , when the leaf 
is pliant and not too limp from excess of moisture. 

All tobacco should be assorted as the leaves are stripped 
fiom the stalks or taken from the sticks, having reference to 
color, length and (piality, tieiug all such together neatly into 
hands or bundles, placing eight to ten leaves of "lugs"— infe- 
rior, lower or ground leaves— and five to seven of leaf in each 
hand. 

Tobacco is in safe order or condition for packing when the 
leaf is pliant and the stem dry and will crack half-way down 
from the large end. Packed in such condition, tobacco "sweats 

40 



swept." If too moist, it will heat in bulk. and .spoil; if too 
dry, it is broken and shows^oug'h and unsightly. 

Use the compost made of PowelVs Prepared Chemicals for 
Tobacco, or Powells "•Ti)) Top"" Bone Fertilizer, from 300 to 
400 pounds to the acre, and you can rea.sonably expect a good 
crop. 



NVe have requested Major Ragland to furnish us his Descrip- 
tive lyist of Tobacco Seed for insertion in this Book, that ap- 
plicants may know where to apply for the best varieties suited 
to all the types, and by reference to the foregoing pages may be 
enabled to select properly. 

TO TOBACCO PLANTERS. 

To grow 6ne Tobacco of any type, the first thing requisite is 
good seed of some variety best adapted to the type sought to be 
produced. The bright varieties will not make rich, heavy, 
waxy goods, nor will the Dark varieties inake fine yellow, silky 
goods. While Cigar leaf requires varieties specially adapted to 
stock suitable for cigars. You cannot be too careful in the 
selection of your seed, and it will pay you to procure them from 
reliable growers or dealers only. Poor seed are dear as a gift, 
while good seed for a large crop of tobacco cost very little, and 
yet one dollar properly-expended at this point has saved hun- 
dreds of dollars in the increased value of the crop. Take no 
risk, but use only the best varieties which are essential in 
making a fine staple, which always sells at remunerating 
prices. 

TO SI5EDMEN AND DEALERS. 

There are varieties of Farm and Horticultural Seeds which 
grow to perfection only in localities most favorable to their 
normal development, and it behooves every dealer in seeds, 
solicitous to furnish the best, to grow or have grown for their 
trade these seeds where they come to the highest perfection. 

The soils and climate of Virginia are peculiarly adapted to 
Tobacco of every type; and seed grown here, under improved 
methods, possess the highest vitality and finest native quali- 
ties. Many planters in ether States send to Virginia for seed 
every year— Virginia seed giving better results than seed pro- 
cured elsewhere. 



Tobacco Seed grown and saved like buck-wheat, i. €., every 
panicle on the stalk allowed to remain and bear capsules, will 
turn out double the quantity in yield, over seed plants trimmed 
of all their lower thyrsi and only three or four at most of the 
top ones allowed to bear seed. The pruning process, however^ 
is the proper mode, for by it the seed capsules are larger— the 
whole force of the plant is directed to the formation of fewer 
capsules with seed of higher vitality, which may be more surely 
relied upon to transmit their peculiar good qualities. Seed thus 
grown are more reliable in every essential quality, and should 
never be classed with seed grown after the old method. 

The long experience of the proprietor of Hijco Seed Farm— the 
Pumeer Tobacco-Seed Grower— usmg new and improved imple- 
ments and methods, some of them of his own invention , enables 
him to compete in price with any who raise tobacco seed for 
market, while in the (lualiln of his seeds he challenges compe- 
tition. No one can grow such seeds except by his method— the 
only proper one— and when thus grown, no one has ever dupli- 
cated his prices. 

He, therefore, claims to sell the best and at the lowest price. 



Hixburg, Appomattox Co., Va. 
Dear Sir: — Yours wishing to know how Powell's Chemicals 
acted for me, is to hand and noted. I used five tons upon my 
tobacco crop of sixty thousand hills. I have heretofore used 
from three to five tons of high priced Guanos, and I never 
made a better crop any year than I have made this year with 
the chemicals. I fallowed a good deal of land for wheat and 
Jised upon that six tons of Chemicals. My wheat crop is said 
to be looking better than any other in the neighborhood. I am 
much pleased with the Chemicals and will continue to use them 
as long as they will do so well for me. 

Yours truly, ^VM. D. HIX. 

Cumberland Co., Ya. 
Dear Sir:— I bought enough of Powell's Prepared Chemi- 
cals last Spring for Tobacco, to make one ton of fertilizer. I 
used it side by side with a fertilizer that cost me fifty dollars 
per ton, putting the same quantity to the acre of each. I could 
.see no difference in the tobacco. I am very much pleased with 
your Chemicals. Yours, &c., R. Y. LANCASTER. 

Cunningham Store, Person Co., N. C. 
Dear Sir :— I used your Chemicals last year on tobacco and I 
never had better result from anj' Peruvian guano or any other 
fertilizers in my life and I expect to use it again. 

Yours, RO. B. BASS, 



I 



MEER TOBACCO-SEED FIIRM, 

THE BEST VARIETIES 

For Every Type of Tobacco. 



PEDIGRE;E SKEDS, im- 
proved by continuous selec- 
tion, and grown on the crown 
shoots only, warranted true to 
name and of the highest vital- 
ity. It is essential to select a 
variety suited to the type de- 
sired to be produced, and to 
yj^^^'j/riiw^^umum^ \ plf'ut only one variety in the 
H ^^'^^dJu^KMrS^^'^s. same field, to insure uniform- 
* /<^^^^Mk^^^^ ^^ ity in the crop. 

We offer none but seeds of 
our own production. 

None better can be found 
than the following: 

S T E R 1. 1 N G.— The newest 
and 1)rightest of the yellow 
type; and being the earliest to 

_^ ^_ ripen, is surest in localities 

~~ "^ — i-^5f^^5= liable to early frosts. 

PRIMUS.— Leaves large, fibres fine and texture silky. Yields 
big crops of extra fine quality. Suited for manufacturing or 
cigars. Grows rapidly and may be relied upon to ripen with 
Sterling. New and scarce. 

SPOTTED PRIOR.— A new favorite ; early fine and adapted 
to several types, Mild in flavor and makes fine Brights or mi !d 
colory fillers. 

LONG LEAF GOOCH.— Leaf larger and finer than the Round 

Leaf Gooch. One of the very best for the manufacturing types. 

LACKS.— Broad leaf, tough fine fibre. On gray soils cures 

•bright and elastic ; on dark soils, rich and gummy. Known as 

Jesup or Beat-All in some localities. Good and reliable. 




43 



(jj^XnyihhH COUNTY YKIvIvOV.'.— a superb variety, and a 
favorite with many planters who average from 20 to 50 dollars 
per hundred pounds,— select lots selling for several dollars per 
pound. Among the earliest to mature and ripen. 

TUCKAHOR.— A first-class variety in every respect. New and 
])referable to most of the older varieties for possessing more 
body. I^eaf long and extra fine- the perfection of a wrapper. 

WHITE STEM ORONOKO.— From the Yellow Oronoko. 
which it resembles, and a most excellent variety'. Greatly pre- 
ferred in some localities where the finest types are grown. 

HYCO.— A new variety, and the easiest of all cured yellow. 
Fine texture, good flavor and sells well. A Hj'brid Oronoko 
and Gourd I,eaf. A beautiful and desirable variety. 

HESTER.— A new variety, originated in Granville county, N. 
C, and has no superior for the yellow type, and makes fine cigar 
stock. It has size, shape, texture and color, and ripens early. 
It recommends itself greatly in this, that it has greater adapta- 
bility over a wider range of soils and latitude than any other of 
the yellow varieties, and may, on this score, be considered the 
surest. 

YElJvOW ORONOKO.— A reliable old yellow variety, grown 
for more than fifty years, and improved with reference to the 
production of yellow stock. 

GOOCH. — A new variety of a great excellence. Resembles 
the Yellow Oronoko, but has a larger leaf; a splendid manu- 
facturing sort. 

YElvI,OW PRIOR. — Preferred by many for brights, and suc- 
ceeds where other yellow sorts fail. The West is giving it pre- 
ference. 

SWEET ORONOKO— Used for first-class plug fillers, and 
makes, when sun-cured, the best Natural Chewing I^eaf. A 
favorite for the "Homespun" wherever known. Known as 
Little Oronoko in some localities. Makes an Eastern Filler 
unsurpassed. 

FlyANAGAN.— Originated in Henry county, Va., and is 
greatly used for making sweet fillers and mahogany wrappers. 
It is a variety of the Old Sweet Oronoko, with broader leaves 
and finer texture. 

EIG ORONOKO.— An old variety and a good, tried one. Has 
a large, broad, finely-shaped leaf, and for strips and dark 
wrappers has no equal. 

BIA'E PRIOR. -The genuine James River favorite. Rich 
shipper, superior to the Kentucky Blue Prior. 

MEDIvEY PRIOR. -Originated in Halifax county, Ya., about 
seventy years ago, and is a general favorite with planters who 



ffow the English and Continental grades. When properly 
frown and cured, it commands the highest price for a"ship- 
oer." 

BRADIvEY BROAD IvEAF.— A popular variety for several 
.ypes— export, manufacturing and cigars. A good, reliable 
variety. 

CONNECTICUT SEED I^EAF.— The largest, finest and best 
Df this indispensable kind. Every seed-stock carefully selected. 

PENNSYI^VANIA SEED LEAF.— Gessner and other supe- 
rior kinds. The best grown in the famous I^ancaster county 
iistrict. 

GENERAI^ GRANT.— One of the finest, earliest and most 
popular kinds for cigars. Grows more in demand every year 

PERSIAN ROSE"— Finer than the Muscatel, and may be 
-elied upon to make the finest cigar stock. A very promising 
variety. 30 cents per ounce. 

HARBY. -A Turkish variety which stands heat and drought 
beyond all others, and may be topped to twenty-five leaves or 
more. Superior to I^atakia, and possesses-a very agreeable odor 
and flavor. 30 cents per ounce. 

BRA^IIJAN-AMERICAN.— The finest Brazilian strain ac- 
climated. Makes excellent cigars and delightful, aromatic 
pipe-smoking tobacco. 30 cents per ounce, 
. HAVANA.— Grown from hnported seed— Vuelto de Abajo— 
—direct. Better than imported seed for American Planters. 
30 cents per ounce. 

BIG HAVANA.— A Hybrid Havana or Cuban seed-leaf. A 
heavy cropper, of iine texture, delightful flavor and the earliest 
cigar variety to mature and ripen. Will make two crops from 
one planting in the South, whilst its earliness makes it most 
desirable for high latitudes. The best Americanized Havana 



W£ DEFY COMPETITION 
In the Selection, Quality and Price of our Seeds. 

Retail price, by mail, 25 cents per ounce, except 
where otherwise stated ; five ounces of any one va- 
riety for $1. By the pound, including not more than 
two varieties, $2. No half ounce packets sold, post- 
age stamps taken for fractional parts of a dollar. 



45 



Remittances may be made by P. O. Order, Registered Letter 
Express or Bank Check — FJastern Exchange preferred. Money 
Order and Express Office, South Boston, Va. 

J^"Wholesale rates to Warehousemen and the Trade on ap- 
plication. 

Hyco, Halifax Covinty, Va. 



Refez's, by permission, to 

PLANTERS and MERCHANTS BANK and 
SOUTH BOSTON BANK, both of South Boston, 
Va., and generally to the TOBACCO MEN and 
PLANTERS of Virginia and North Carolina. 

I^~T. W. WOOD &. SONS, Seedsmen, Richmond, Va., ai-e 
prepared to furnish Ragland's Seeds, Wholesale and Retail, at 
the lowest prices. 



Only a few testimonials are given herein for want of space — 
my TIP TOP BONE FERTILIZER and the POWELL'S 
PREPARED CHEMICALS for Tobacco are so well known, 
they really are not necessarj-. 



Gary's Store, Buchingham Co , Va. 
I used one ton of Powell's Prepared Chemicals upon my 
tobacco crop last spring. I made a fine crop of tobacco ; in 
fact, was so much pleased with its action that I used five tons 
this fall on my wheat. 

JAMES H. FORBES. 

C. W. Hazen, Catlett's Station, Va., says: I have been using 
fertilizers for 25 years ; have experimented with many different 
kinds, and never have used any that has given me better 
results than Powell's Prepared Chemicals. 

Mr. P. Strickler, Timl)erville, Va., says : I have used Powell's 
Prepared Chemicals largely, and they have done as well for 
me as any of the high-priced fertilizers I liave heretofore 
used. 



HENRY F. CLARK, EsQ , Ringgold, Va., says ;— I used 
. owell's Tip Top Bone Fertilizer for tobacco, and made good 
.Tops. I was well pleased with it and think it the best fertilizer 
for tobacco I ever used. I expect to continue to use it. 

JOHN C. CHANEY, Esq., Laurel Grove, Va., says :— I have 
been using Powell's Tip Top Bone Fertilizer since 1S82. I use 
for tobacco 400 lbs. to the acre, and give the following results 
as my experience. In the year 1G82, my crop averaged $24.80 
per cwt. In 1883, it averaged $25.55, and the crop, which 
1 gave just finished curing, will, I think average at least I30.00 
per cwt., it being the finest crop I have ever raised. The "Tip 
Top" is as good as an}^ guano I have ever used, without regard 
to price, and I have used almost all kinds since I have been 
farming. I can recommend it to my neighbors. 

Hyco, Va., Nov. 15th, 18S8. 
Mr. W. S. Powell, Baltimore, Md. 

Dear Sir:— Your "Tip Top" Fertilizer was used for tobacco 
this year— 350 to the acre— on an old field, that produced last 
year less than seven bushels corn per acre of poor quality, be- 
ing largely nubbins. The tobacco grew off well in spite of a 
drought of eight weeks duration ; leaf fairly good size, of fine 
texture and yellowed on the hill in defiance of continued rains 
during September and October, and cured mahogany color of 
good quality. 

It is notorious, that the past season was the most unfavora- 
ble for tobacco that many planters ever experienced, and it is 
deservedly high praise to the Tip Top, to report that its action 
and results proved decidedly more favorable and satisfactory 
than were obtained from any other of several standard brands 
A Fertilizers used in competition therewith— many of them 
higher priced and all of them having the advantage of being 
used on fresher and better soil. 

I've never used a Tobacco Fertilizer on old land with better 
or more satisfactory results than were realized from Tip Top 
, this year, considering the season, and will not only use it again, 
but confidently recommend it to others. 

Yours truly, R. L. RAGLAND. 

We concur in what Major Ragland says of the Tip Tod, and 
believe it to be a most excellent fertilizer for Tobacco. It cer- 
tainly acted well this year on old land under very unfavorable 
conditions. 

E. F, COLE, Manager for Major R. L. Ragland. 
I J. P. TOFTIS, Tenant of Major R. L- Ragland. 

Brook Neal, Campbell Co., Ya., Nov. 8th, 1888. 
* * ''I am glad to saj^ that the farmers are highly pleased 
with your Tip Top Bone Fertilizer, used last season on tobacco. 
They saj' it has the right name and is Tip Top, and that they 
iprefer it to any Fertilizer they ever used." 

INlilton, Ky., Nov. 6th. 
We are all pleased with the Tobacco crops grown with your 
Fertilizer. My son and myself used 1% tons on six acres com- 
com land, and have an extra crop for any land or year ; have 
been raising tobacco for 20 years ; my last crop raised with your 
Fertilizer was the best in two counties— so the buyers say. 

L. M. WOOD. 



P(JWELL'S 



Ci 



TIP TOP' 

B( )NE FERTILIZ ER. 




I'OWElvIv'S TIP TOP BONE FERTIUZER is nnqucstu 
hly the best Fertilizer for all crops I kuow of,— it has l 
thoroughly tried for the past twelve years on nearly every 1 
of crop and on all styles of land ; and so far, I have not h< 
a complaint of it. In its preparation, it has been niy aiu 
combine all the essential elements of plant life in such pro 
tions as to make them readilj' assimilate to the growing pi 
it is strong and quick-acting. For Tobacco— in the tob; 
sections of Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky— it 
great favorite, and equally so in the grain sections of the I 
die States. I aim to have it always dry and in good condil 
no farmer can go wrong in using Tip Top. Where ordi: 
fertilizers have given satisfaction with an application o 
pounds to the acre, I feel safe in recommending a smaller q 
titv of Tip Top. I :; 



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EIL A CO., FRS., BALTIMORE. 







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